NASCAR VS. USMTS AT BVR 6-24-08
Jeremiah Davis
(06/24/08)
Tuesday night at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, if you missed it, was one special night of racing, for many reasons.
Mainly, it was special because BVR played host to some of the best dirt modified drivers in the country, who tour with the United States Modified Touring Series. Oh, and not to mention, the appearance of Kenny Wallace and Kenny Schrader.
The A-Main for the USMTS boys was one that kept the packed grandstands alert. The feature race ran with only one caution, so there was action all over the place.
It started out with Brandon Kenny of Woodward, OK taking the early lead and stretching it out over BVR regular Jay Noteboom, who runs with the USMTS quite a bit.
Kenny looked to check out from the rest of the field, while Noteboom raced for second with Jason Hughes of Westville, OK and Dereck Ramirez, also of Woodward, OK.
After the one and only caution of the race, Ramirez moved past Noteboom on the restart and into second, looking to take the lead from Kenny.
Before he could do that, however, Jason Krohn of Slayton, MN slipped past into second, and was followed by Kenny Schrader who moved to third.
Unfortunately for Schrader, his run for the win halted a lap later when he blew a motor challenging for second.
After Schrader pulled off, that left Noteboom to race Kelly Shryock for third. Shryock, a Fertile, IA native, is very familiar with BVR. His father raced here for several years, famously clashing with Dennis Hovinga, providing for great racing.
While Kenny and Krohn raced hard for the lead, Shryock was catching them. He had to work very hard to do so, as he had started in the 11th position out of the 25 cars that transferred to the A-Main.
With 9 laps to go, it was a three car race. Krohn took the lead from Kenny at that mark, and Shryock began to reel them both in.
With three laps to go, Shryock moved his #3 past Kenny for second, and set his sights on the leader, Krohn.
Shryock worked the bottom lane, and was side by side with Krohn for the win over the final two laps. Shryock was able to move past Krohn coming to the white flag, and never looked back.
Shryock held on for the win on the final lap, finishing side by side with Krohn. Brandon Kenny held on for third, with Dereck Ramirez rebounding to fourth, and Jason Hughes fifth.
The Stock Car A-Main was special for different reasons, and mainly for one person.
The feature race started with Randy Lawry, Chris Ullrich, and Brian Blessington engaging in a three-way battle for the lead.
The battle sorted itself out, with Ullrich racing off to the lead, with Blessington in tow. Lawry ran close behind them both.
The three cars raced the next few laps single file, and it looked as though Ullrich would be able to hang on, until with 5 laps remaining, he lost the front nose cone on his car, bringing out the caution and sending him to the back.
On the restart, new leader Blessington took off, leaving Lawry to defend his 2nd place position from Mike Scharn.
Blessington ran away from the field over the final laps, claiming his first win since 2006. The win was special to the man who dominated at BVR in the past. Lawry held on for second, while Scharn slipped up on the final lap, falling to fourth, moving Matt Scharn up to third.
The Sport Mod feature race had far less excitement. This race was over after the first lap. Brett Meyer had the field covered, taking the lead on the opening lap, and never relinquishing it.
The only other driver who seemed to have anything for him was Luke Wanninger, and even he was a half-straightaway behind.
Meyer cruised to the win, with Wanninger second, and Scott Forbes third.
The Hobby Stock feature also saw one driver dominate the race. New to BVR this week was Andy Boeckman of Wall Lake, who jumped to the early lead, followed closely by Tim Rupp.
However, it wasnt close for long. Boeckman took off, stretching out his lead, leaving Rupp to defend second place.
Boeckman led flag to flag, picking up the win in his first week at BVR. Rupp held on for second, with Devin Smith racing to third.
The Sport Compact race saw only four cars take the green flag, two of which were cars that run up front week in and week out.
Daniel Smith and Cory Flannigan raced side by side the whole race running for the victory. It came down to the stripe, with Smith just edging out Flannigan for the win.
